# ButtonGroup

> Groups related Buttons into one attached (segmented) or spaced row.

- Status: beta
- Group: actions
- Page: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components/button-group
- Contract: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/contracts/v1/ButtonGroup.contract.json

## When to use

ButtonGroup presents sibling actions as one surface. Attached (default) collapses inner radii and shares 1px seams for view switchers and compact toolbars; attached=false keeps the group semantics but spaces the buttons for form action rows. Children should share variant and size. It groups independent actions; it does not manage selection state.

## When not to use

- Do not use it for exclusive selection (active segment state); that is a toggle-group pattern this component deliberately does not implement.

## Look-alikes

- SegmentedControl: Do not use it for actions or navigation that commits/routes; use `ButtonGroup` or links. Selecting must only change the bound value.
- SplitButton: Do not put a menu trigger inside; SplitButton owns primary-action + menu.

## Props

| Prop | Type | Default | Description | Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `ariaLabel` | `string` | none | Accessible name for the group (announced by screen readers). | No |
| `attached` | `boolean` | `true` | Fuse the children into one segmented control surface. | No |
| `children` | `React.ReactNode` | none | Buttons / IconButtons of the same variant and size. | Yes |

## Variants

No variant dimensions and no props with a fixed set of values.

## Invalid combinations

The contract records no invalid combinations.

## Keyboard

| Key | Behaviour |
| --- | --- |
| Tab | Moves through each child button (no roving tabindex) |

## Rules

Every item under When not to use is a MUST NOT. MUST and SHOULD follow RFC 2119.

| Level | Rule | How it is checked |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MUST | ARIA: Role=group with aria-label naming the cluster. | Not yet verified: no evidence record. WCAG 4.1.2. |
| MUST | Required stories produce no axe violations at the configured severity. | Automated by `npm run test:stories:matrix:ci`. WCAG 2.5.8. |
| MUST | The accessibility tree (role, name, state) matches the committed snapshot for every required story. | Automated by `npm run test:stories:matrix:ci`. WCAG 1.3.1, 4.1.2. |
| MUST | The component remains legible and operable under a real browser forced-colors: active pass. | Automated by `npm run test:stories:hc`. |
| MUST | Every documented keyboard interaction works as specified. | Not yet verified: no evidence record. WCAG 2.1.1, 2.1.2. |
| MUST | A human completed an end-to-end accessibility review of this component. | Manual review, last on 2026-07-03. |
| SHOULD | Use one variant and one size for every segment; mixed weights read as unrelated buttons touching. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Name the group with ariaLabel ("Text alignment", "View") so AT users get the context first. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Prefer secondary variant for attached segments; the outline makes the shared seams legible. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD | Use IconButtons for compact toolbar clusters; each still needs its own label. | Not stated in the contract. |
| SHOULD NOT | Do not put a menu trigger inside; SplitButton owns primary-action + menu. | Not stated in the contract. |

## Install and import

- Install: `npm install @digitaltableteur/react` (version 0.9.1, restricted access on npm).
- Import: `import { ButtonGroup } from "@digitaltableteur/react";`
- Entry point: `@digitaltableteur/react/actions` exports it too.
- Styles: import `@digitaltableteur/react/style.css` once at the app boundary.
- Also available as the custom element `<dt-button-group>`; see the custom elements manifest.

## Links

- Machine-readable contract (Design System Contract 1.0): https://www.digitaltableteur.com/contracts/v1/ButtonGroup.contract.json
- Markdown version of this page: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components/button-group.md
- Component index as JSON: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components.json
- All components: https://www.digitaltableteur.com/design-system/components
- Source: The implementation lives in a private repository. This page, its Markdown twin and the contract are generated from it at build time and are the public source of truth.